Eltham fire station partially closed amid sinking fears

THE new $10 million Eltham CFA station has been partially closed after issues with the concrete slab and a prominent retaining wall.

Neighbour Leo Scott outside the CFA station. Picture: Nicole Garmston

A $10 million CFA station has been partially closed amid claims it is sinking.

Builders are trying to repair Eltham Fire Station — which only opened three years ago — after reports of it subsiding and causing structural concerns.

A large area of the Brougham St site has been fenced off for months and heavy vehicles have been moved to a different site to ease the pressure.

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Nillumbik mayor Councillor Peter Clarke confirmed there were issues with the concrete slab and a prominent retaining wall.

“The land has subsided under the slab and they haven’t driven on it in months,” he said.

“It’s unclear whether or not the retaining wall has failed and they’re worried, if it potentially gets worse in the winter, … the collapse of the retaining wall.”

A fence has been erected around part of the new building. Picture: David Caird

A CFA spokeswoman said repairs were being made to the wall.

“Some repairs are being made to a retaining wall at the rear of Eltham Fire Station,” she said.

“CFA operations at the station have continued and there has been no impact service delivery.”

A smaller area was first cordoned off in 2016 when the ground around a drain began to sink, according to neighbour Leo Scott, 69.

He spotted the issue at the 24-hour station two years ago and asked a member about it, who told him there were some “sinking concerns”.

“They just said ‘it just sort of fell a bit over there’,” he said.

“They just can’t seem to get it right.”

Mr Clarke labelled the construction issues and repair delays a “major failure”.

“It’s nuts. How can you have it sitting like that for nine months at least now?” he said.

“It’s just ridiculous.”

Engineering firm Harrington Gumienik and Partners designed the structure of the building and the outside training area, but not the large retaining wall.

The Eltham CFA station. Picture: David Caird

A security fence has been put up around some of the station. Picture: Nicole Garmston

Engineer Michael Harrington confirmed there were some “remedial works” taking place and the firm had been in discussions with the CFA.

“There’s been a couple of reports,” he said.

“There’s a little bit of a dispute as to the exact cause because there’s a number of consultants involved and there is a number of alleged actions.”

Construction management firm Devco ran the 11-month build and described the challenging site on its website.

“The site has significant amount of fill requiring renewal through reinstatement and consolidation,” the website read.

“External works include engineered keystone retaining walls up to eight metres in height and terraced landscaping.”

Devco declined to comment on the ongoing issue.

A government spokesman said the works were not costing the taxpayer.

“These repairs are being paid for by the builder, at no cost to CFA or the Victorian Government.”

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